Mark Watson’s wife is gravely ill. She has been for the last three days back in Britain while he’s on tour in New Zealand making people laugh. He tells us this sad news at the end of his show so it doesn’t sound like an excuse, just in case "I’m shit".

It’s no laughing matter that his wife is sick, but Watson doesn’t let it get in the way of putting on a hoot of a performance made up of long rambling yarns, tangential outbursts and a genius 20 minutes of improvisation sparked by a humble bottle of water.

He is jerky and jittery like John Cleese, lets out excitable, random roars of delight and sounds like a manic Matthew from the kids show Rainbow. [More]
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It’s a bit of a late kickoff in the SkyCity theatre, fortunately really as I was running as typically late as half the audience myself… Auckland parking in a festival is quite simply a bit of a nightmare – on a Tuesday night no less!  The fact no less than twelve comedy shows opened tonight is largely responsible for the fact We had to park on the very bottom floor of the casino carpark. 

It’s fair to say that the effort it takes to get to any of these gigs is directly proportionate to how funny it had bloody better be once you’re in.  

There’s evidence in that, I think necessary, tirade, that Mark’s excitable need to jam in every tangential thought process in the course of telling even the simplest of stories like he’s the generation Y love-grandchild of Tommy Cooper and Ronnie Corbett, is – to employ a fairly clichéd yet accurate colloquialism in comedy reviewing circles – infectious. 

It’s the fourth paragraph already and, although I’ve possibly slanted the mood of this critique for the reader to infer some idea of my opinion, it has yet to actually state whether I found him funny.  It’s tempting to not even clarify, as payback for the fascinating extended story about a trip in an ambulance that he never seemed to get around to finishing thanks to an overwhelming degree of sidetracking. 

The fact that this is disappointing illustrates how engaging and interesting his maddeningly relentless rapid-fire confessions and commentaries truly are.  The incessantly frantic digressions are all part of it of course, and with any luck he’ll conclude that particular story arc in the remainder of the season’s performances. 

Watson admits to probably not really fitting in to normal society given his tendency to cause himself stress through his own ineptitude, such as his inability to stop his internal monologue hijacking his mouth.  It sounds a bit like a kind of compulsive-narration form of Tourette syndrome. 

When he busts a front row punter whispering to her friend and demands to know what about, she says that watching him drink his plastic bottled water was making her thirsty.  This cues an extended riff on the bottle’s label text and related implications, so brilliantly reeled off with nary a missed beat I considered whether the audience member was a plant.  I hope not though, or I’ve spoiled it for anyone reading this before going to see it… don’t tell Darby! 

That and other key interactions with folks in the audience add a real sense of unrepeatable magic to the rehearsed part of the show.  Impressions of myriad somehow connected topics include (but are far from limited to) customs ordeals, Facebook and Twitter, hen night(mare)s and catching himself making noises like his dad.  Wrapping up the show becomes a merry in-depth rundown of the logistical game plan vis-à-vis the curtain call. 

Thinking back to an earlier point in the chaotic hour, it must be said that when a man can bring the house down just by telling the audience how many testicles he’s got, there’s no more avoiding being clear that yes, Mark’s neuroses and awkwardly tangled explanations are indeed extremely and continually funny.
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NOTE: The Dominion Post of 13 May advises Mark Watson’s Wellington season (San Francisco bathhouse, 19-23 May, 7pm) has been cancelled "because of a family medical emergency". He will complete his Auckland season then return to the UK. "Ticketholders can see Australian comedian Mickey D [same venue & dates, 8.30pm] or seek a refund from Ticketek." 
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